Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez, right, is greeted by Randy Wolf, left, after hitting a three-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, July 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

PHOENIX — For the first time in 10 years, Carlos Gomez did not play winter ball in the Dominican Republic before reporting to spring training. As always with native players, there was pressure to suit up but he would not relent.

“My son (Yandel) is almost 4 years old now and I wanted to spend time with him,” the Milwaukee Brewers centerfielder explained. “I enjoy spending time with my family. I had a big birthday party for my wife. And I threw BP to my son every day.

“We had a lot of fun.”

The energetic, outgoing Gomez always seems to find ways to have fun. But he also can be serious about things, and that’s the approach he is taking this spring as he prepares for the most important season of his career.

Part of Gomez’s focus is the Brewers’ commitment to him as their No. 1 centerfielder. After playing his way in and out of the lineup in past years in Minnesota and Milwaukee, he moved past Nyjer Morgan last season and finally began converting some of his considerable promise into production.

In 137 games, Gomez batted .261 with 19 home runs, 51 runs batted in and a team-high 37 steals. His .305 on-base percentage marked the first time he finished above .300, not exactly a scintillating figure considering his tremendous speed but a step in the right direction.

Morgan was allowed to leave via free agency and eventually went to Japan, leaving manager Ron Roenicke and fans throughout Brewer Nation crossing their fingers that Gomez’s improvement in 2012 was not a mirage.

“It’s hard to say if it’s just age or maturing, or confidence,” Roenicke said of the strides made by Gomez. “Aptitude and figuring things out. It’s hard to say what it is but we’re hoping that path continues and he gets better than he was last year.

“He has improved. I don’t know if I’d say it’s more than I thought. I saw him quite a bit when he was with Minnesota, so I had formulated opinions about him. The first year (as manager) I tried to get him more playing time early and he didn’t play that well. Hopefully, he has figured it out.”

Gomez has another reason to maintain his concentration throughout the 2013 season: money. He is a free agent after the season, and if he has a big year, either the Brewers or another club could overlook previous disappointing seasons and offer a big payday.

In his final year of salary arbitration with the Brewers, Gomez — who is represented by super-agent Scott Boras — saw his salary jump from below $2 million to $4.3 million. With an even bigger showing this year, a multi-year offer would be a distinct possibility.

How serious is Gomez about getting it right in 2013? He decided this week to back out of his commitment to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, opting instead to focus on preparing for the season.

“This year is really important to me for my career,” said Gomez, who will be backed up in center by promising rookie Logan Schafer. “I’m going to take advantage of spring training because if I go to the WBC that is going to be wasted time for me. I won’t have the time I need to prepare for the year I want.

“I want to stay here. If I have the opportunity to stay here longer, I will appreciate it. I feel comfortable here. This team gave me a chance and an opportunity, and trust in my ability. Why not take the opportunity to play here longer?”

The Brewers still have 13 players from the organization committed to the WBC, so Roenicke certainly didn’t mind that Gomez decided to stay in camp.

“This is an important year for him, not just individually,” said Roenicke. “He knows he’s going to be our centerfielder and wants to be ready and help us win this year. Sometimes there are different reasons for guys, for what they do.

“He showed last year that when you give him a chance to play every day that he can do it. Whenever you get that chance and you do it, you need to come back the next year and do it again for somebody to say he’s a long-term centerfielder. And it just happens to come along with the time when he’s going to be a free agent, which makes it doubly important for him.

“And for us, too. I like Carlos on the team. I’d like to have him for a long time. But we’ll see where the free agency takes him and if we’re able to keep him.”

A free swinger who has had difficulty grasping the concept of plate discipline, Gomez no doubt will still have four-strikeout nights that frustrate him, Roenicke and Brewers faithful. But no one questions the impact he can have in the field, where few balls are out of his reach.

“He’s like having two guys out there in center field, he covers so much ground,” said leftfielder Ryan Braun. “He’s really entertaining. I’ll get under a ball and he’ll yell, ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got it!,’ just to mess with me, which is really interesting at times.

“He’s such an incredible athlete. It was so much fun to watch him succeed the way he did last year. I think he’s one of the best defenders in baseball. He’s certainly an incredible centerfielder. He makes my job easy as a leftfielder.”

Gomez sometimes crosses over the line from aggressiveness to recklessness in the field. He broke a collarbone in Phoenix in 2011 making a somersaulting catch that most players would not have attempted.

“We win the game because of that catch,” said Gomez. “That cost me a month and a half but I want to win the game. This is how I learned to play the game. If I play the right way and hurt myself, I’ll take it.

“To be honest, I don’t like easy fly balls… .I like to run and dive.”

It can be a curse to be labeled a “five-tool player” if you don’t immediately become a superstar, and that was certainly the case with Gomez. He signed with the New York Mets when he was 16 and debuted in the big leagues at the still tender age of 21, never living up to expectations.

Dealt to Minnesota after his rookie season, he played his way in and out of favor with the Twins, never finding anything resembling consistency at the plate.

“I was very young when I came to the major leagues,” said Gomez, who was traded to the Brewers after the 2009 season for shortstop J.J. Hardy. “Not everybody had that opportunity but for me it was not the right time.

“You have to learn how to handle the tough times. I used to get frustrated a lot. You have to take it in a good way and keep working hard. I’ve put that in my mind the last few years and that’s why I’ve been more successful.

“I’ve lost my job a few times and I make it back again. I’ve been working for seven years to be in this position. At 27 years old, I finally made it.”

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